Kat Hing Wai Walled Village

Just outside the town of Yuen Long lies an old walled village, still inhabited by the descendents of those who once built these walls to protect themselves from rival clans, bandits, pirates -- even tigers, who once prowled the area.

Dating back around 500 years to the Ming dynasty (1368-1644), Kat Hing Wai Walled Village is a rectangular-shaped village constructed mostly of blue brick walls. It was first settled by the Tang clan; one of the five biggest clans to take up residence in the New Territories. The village offers a glimpse into the intriguing past of these early settlers, who built enclosing walls, dug a moat outside the village and installed chained-ring iron gates during the early years of the Kangxi reign in the Qing Dynasty. While some of the older houses have been replaced with more modern dwellings, the village’s guardhouse towers and moat have survived.

Did you know?

In 1899, a year after China leased the New Territories to Britain, the people of Kam Tin were putting up resistance to the new colonial authorities. After several skirmishes, the locals took refuge behind the iron gates of Kat Hing Wai Walled Village. The British troops overran the village, dismantled its gates and shipped them back to Britain as booty. In 1924, a member of the Tang clan petitioned the British government to return the gates. As a gesture of goodwill, Governor Stubbs returned it to the village during a ceremony in 1925. Today, a tablet hanging near the main gate of the village gives an account of the incident.